Altered World
by fireking220
Summary: Earth is now barren, nothing is left but a young man named Gary. These beasts that he calls Demons destroyed everything, his family, his girlfriend, everything. As he searches for survivors he comes across a Demon girl but this one is different.
1. Chapter 1

**Altered World**

Everything was silent, not a soul to be found. As Gary stood on the outskirts of the once beautiful city, he could only faintly remember what horrible events took place. He was a different human back then, happy and content with not a care in the world, but now that was nothing but a distant memory. The only thing that shielded his body from all the sadness was a soft breeze as cold as death itself. He ventured into the ruined city head hung down, everything silent as a whisper. The only thing moving him forward was the slight echo of his own footsteps. He shot a glance at a fountain about twelve feet from where he stood. There, right in front of the fountain was a happy couple, seeming to not care about anything, just having fun, enjoying their short lives. He saw a boy, about four feet tall, with short brown hair and a medium build. He seemed to not care how he looked judging by the torn blue shirt and ripped tan shorts. His arm had a scar that went straight down his right arm. He was holding an ice cream cone in one hand and his other resting on the fountain rim. Next to him was a girl of roughly the same height. She sported long blonde hair and her body was curvy. She had a torn white shirt and a torn red skirt that hung down below her thighs. Her face sported a brown scar on the side of her face, and she was also holding an ice cream cone. Despite their appearance, they seemed to be having fun, just laughing their troubles away. Then, like a bullet to the head, all of that disappeared into mist. Gary found himself standing in front of a broken fountain. His eye caught a drawing on the rim. A heart with an arrow through it and in the center was some writing that read, "G+T." Without thinking his hand reached out and touched the inscription, sliding his hand across it, gradually feeling every groove etched into the concrete. He wanted to cry but couldn't. His tears had already dried up along with his spirit that was drastically changed all those years ago.

It had been six years since the demons first came to Earth. It was the day his whole life changed before his eyes. That day his father died, his sister, his girlfriend, everyone. The world was his graveyard. For all Gary knew, he was the only one left. The last human alive on this barren wasteland of a planet but Gary chose not to accept this. He knew there had to be someone else alive out there and he was committed to finding him or her.

Gary lifted his hand off the rim and brought it down to his side, firmly gripping his gun holster and walked past the fountain leaving his memories of yesteryear behind him. As he traveled through the ruined city he could only think of his girl. She was tender, sweet, funny, Smart, and beautiful. The amount of love that she gave him and all the warmth that they shared. The numbers of times that they would both sneak out at night and spend time together. But none of that mattered now. She was dead and he was alive. Gary stopped in his tracks and looked up. There he saw a man, about six feet with short brown hair, and a scar down his right arm. He saw another man, about six feet with rusty brown hair. Judging by the scar the rusty haired man had on his right eye and the bruises that covered his body, Gary could only assume that he had been in quite a bit of quarrels. From the looks they gave each other they seemed to be close friends or maybe even family. The rusty haired man reached down to his side and handed two Magnums to the brown haired man. The Magnums both had silver Chinese dragons etched onto both sides of the barrel. And then, everything vanished. Gary found himself standing in an old rundown house. He reached down and pulled the two Magnums out of their respective holsters and looked at them. The same silver dragons were etched onto the sides and the paint was wearing thin. Gary stared longingly at the guns, exhaled a long sigh, and put the guns back into their dark chasms. He continued to walk through the ruined city searching for survivors unaware that two, beady, blood red eyes were watching his every move.

Gary always had a grudge against these demons. Ever since that devastating day he always had revenge in his heart. He swore to himself that he would rid the Earth of this disease before he died by their hand. All he knew now was how to kill, how to dodge, and how to fight. Everything else was cast away like every second on a clock. All Gary was certain of now was that the bullets that he carries would end this nightmare once and for all.


	2. Chapter 2

Gary continues to gradually inch forward, step-by-step. He had no idea where he was going. Even though he grew up in this city, everything was new to his eyes. But knowing his luck, it'll probably lead to danger. Ignoring this fact he continued forward slowly coming to a halt in front of a cemetery. He had painful memories of this place, so painful that he almost turned back, but he knew that he had to find survivors. Draining every ounce of his own will, he continued on. Skeletons were scattered all around the graveyard, both human and demon. With every step, Gary swore in his own mind that he could hear bones breaking under his feet. Gary came to a halt in front of a peculiar gravestone. He got down on one knee, placed his hand on the cold hard stone and stared at the script that read, "Elise Katie Aaron." His own mother. Gary sat in silence. The puddle below his feet didn't even stir. Gary hung his head down in grief. The only person that accepted him now was a pale-faced man in the puddle below him with a star necklace around his collar. His white shirt was only accented by the moonlight that engulfed this desolate world. On his left forearm was a scarf, stained with blood, tied loosely around his arm and hung down like a helpless animal. Gary knew that this person was himself. He had no one else. Just him, all alone.

A huge rock flew past the side of his face. Gary immediately looked back only to spy a rampaging demon. Red skin was hanging from its body exposing his bleach white bones, its jaw was hanging down, and its blood red eyes could strike fear into even the greatest warrior. From its bones it looked like a cross between a gorilla and an orc or even a centaur. With only rage and destruction in its eyes, it rushed towards Gary.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Gary screamed as he scrambled to his feet.

Gary pulled his two magnums from their holsters and begun firing like a maniac. All the bullets hit their mark but this did not slow the creature down, not even a little bit. Seeing that he was at a disadvantage, Gary ran for the cathedral behind him, still shooting like crazy at the beast hoping that the next bullet would decide the kill. But that bullet never came. Quickly he found he was out of bullets. As he reached for his ammo, the huge demon ran up to him and bashed him across the graveyard into the cathedral's support pillar sending cracks up the post. Gary hit the ground with a thud and the demon rushed toward him yet again hoping to silence him for eternity. Gary loaded one of his magnums and begun firing at the beast again, slowly crawling back as each of his bullets left the barrel. The demon jumped in front of him and just as it was about to purge Gary's soul from his body, the support column shattered and part of the roof fell on the beast's head. Gary sat there in silence. The only sound he could hear was the loud echo of his own heart. He had escaped death once again.

Luck was a strange thing. To Gary, it always seemed to work against him, throwing everything at him in all hopes that the last trial would be his bane. Then all of a sudden it helped him out of the same situation that it threw at him. From when he started this massive fight against these demons, luck had always played both sides. To this day, Gary still wonders, which side was luck on?

Gary stared at the beast. Even though it was dead, he was still terrified to his very core. The incident kept replaying in his own head like a song on replay. Everything was silent. His heart had finally quieted down and he slowly stood on his own two feet. His back was screaming out in pain. He could only assume that his back was fractured or part of the muscle was torn from the bone. Gary tried his best to ignore it for he couldn't stop now. If history was right there would be more on the way. He pulled out his magnum, shot the beast in the head, and walked into the dark cathedral behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

Gary found himself in the lobby with two spiral stairways that lead up to the second floor on either side. It looked like they would fall any minute. The paint on the walls was faded and barely covered anything. Instead of thinking what had happened he closed the door and barricaded it with a wooden board and continued forward. Gary came to a door and tried to open it. He couldn't until he found a lock joining the two handles. A thought entered his mind, a dark thought. He quickly shrugged it off and raising his magnum, he took a shot and broke the lock in two. After he entered the room beyond, Gary's thought was realized. Human bodies were scattered across the floor. The entire place was lifeless. Blood stained the green carpet leading up to the alter. Slowly he preceded turning his head and gradually scanning the room. He had seen this before; so many times in fact that it had became a second nature for him. He was used to seeing dead bodies everywhere he went. Stopping in the middle of the aisle, he reached down to his waist, took his Bible off of its respective clip, knelt down on both knees and started to pray. He only prayed for one thing, to find someone, anyone, even an animal; anything to show that he wasn't the last human alive. No matter how many times he asked God for an answer, Gary never heard a response. Doubt was slowly succumbing his thoughts. Was all of his searching for nothing? Who or what did he risk his life for? Were these battle scars pushing him along the road to a better future or were they going to seal his fate in hell? He never knew the answer. No one was going to help him now, not even his savior.

Gary felt a soft tap on his shoulder. He quickly flung himself around and aimed both of his trusty magnums in that direction, but found nothing. He swore he felt someone or something touch him. He thought he finally found someone. Someone whom he could share everything with, someone who could be right by his side through good times and bad, but there was nothing. All he found was more of the same soft, cold air that comforted his heart. He lowered both of his guns down to his waist. With all of his hope drained he slowly turned back only to freeze right in his tracks. In front of Gary's eyes was a girl with a demon like aura around her body hovering right in front of his face. She had long, dark brown hair and body was slender and lean. She was wearing a salmon colored shirt that had one long sleeve and the other had been torn off. Her wrists sported two gold bracelets and her blue pants that were torn right at her left knee. Gary sat there motionless not making a sound. This was the closest he had ever got to a demon. When Gary thought for sure this was his end the girl spoke up.

"Well well aren't you the cute one. I thought all the humans fell to their demise," the demon girl said with a chuckle.

The demon girl spotted his Bible on the floor and knelt down to pick it up.

"What's this?"

Gary immediately jumped up and swiped the Bible right out of her hands and pointed his magnum at the girl's head.

"Don't you dare touch my Bible you rat," Gary said with a serious look in his eyes.

Gary pulled the trigger and a bullet bursted out of the barrel into nothing. His head swerved left and right trying to find her aura lingering about. Right in front of his eyes the girl appeared again. Gary pulled his other magnum from its chasm and fired. All of his bullets had one target; her head but they never found it. The girl was knocking his arms out of the way narrowly avoiding death. Soon after, Gary found he was out of bullets again. Before he could even reload, the girl hit both of the guns out of his own clutches. Without hesitating, he reached for his dagger he kept at his waist and started slashing at her relentlessly. The girl dodged everything that Gary threw at her.

"_This demon is good,_" Gary thought to himself.

Then his arm was struck with a searing pain and before he could even react, his knife was knocked out of his hand and lodged in the wall by the door.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! All I try to do is come up and introduce myself but you lash out and try to kill me!" The girl screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Why don't you take a look in the mirror sometime!" Gary shouted.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?!" The girl answered.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't!"

"So which is it then!"

"I'm not going to tell the likes of you, demon!"

"Demon?! Why you little... whatever. You're not leaving until I get some answers."

"I'd sooner die than tell you anything!"

Gary knelt down, picked up both of his guns and proceeded to reload but he couldn't find his ammo bag. It was like it vanished like a ghost in the night.

"Looking for this," the girl said sneeringly.

The girl held out her hand and materialized Gary's ammo bag. When Gary spotted it he let out a low growl.

"You want this back? Then you're going to give me answers."

As much as Gary hated it, he had no choice. Either he stays with the demon and gets his ammo back or he goes outside defenseless.

"I'll take you not leaving as a yes then. First question, what are you doing here?" The girl asked.

Gary paused for a second going over his options for a second time. Before he knew it a minute had passed. The girl, getting impatient, floated over to him and knocked on his forehead.

"Hello! Are you still with me!?"

Gary shook his head back and forth, temporarily freeing him from his thoughts.

"I've come here looking for survivors," Gary finally answered.

"Uh, hello? Where have you been for the last 6 years. All the humans are gone."

"They're not all gone!."

"You don't believe fact?!" The girl shouted back.

Gary paused. An eerie silence filled the chamber.

"They can't be gone, there has to be someone else. I have to find him or her even if I costs me my life. I want to save this world and I don't want to do it alone. Who will celebrate with me when I do?"

The girl yawned and started to play with her hair. The bag hovered in the air right by her side.

"The demons killed my family. My sister, my mother, my father, everyone. Including my girl. She gave her life for me so I could publish a better tomorrow. I simply can't let her death go unanswered."

"That's a great story Malcolm X but I hope you have some proof to back it up."

"What's that supposed to mean!" Gary shouted.

"Calm down Cassius. I mean how are you going to kill every demon on Earth? Honestly you can't expect to do it with these puny magnums."

"Hey! My father gave me those guns!"

"I'm just saying that you will need a bit more firepower."

"These guns have never failed me once."

"No, luck has never failed you once," the girl said

"What do you mean?"

"I saw what happened out there. That wasn't skill, that was luck."

Gary stood there silent as the same cold air brushed past his face.

"Second question, who are you?" The girl asked Gary.

Gary's eye kept flickering toward his ammo bag.

"Gary Nicholas Aaron."

"Aaron? Such an odd name."

"Odd? What's odd about it."

"No reason. It's just there's something strange about it."

Gary only had one thought in his head. How long was he going to keep talking to this girl? Every second that passed he got more and more vulnerable.

"I answered your questions now give me back my ammo bag," Gary said commandingly.

"My, you're impatient and to think, I had so much more to ask of you."

The girl threw his ammo bag back. Gary immediately loaded one of his magnum's and aimed it at the girl's head. The girl hovered there not even flinching.

"Now I'm afraid I can't let you live anymore. Say hello to Satan for me. Tell him I'll be joining him soon," Gary said with a smirk on his face.

Gary pulled the trigger but nothing came out. The only sound heard was a click.

"Come on, do you think I'm that stupid?" The girl said. "When you leave the graveyard the hex will be broken, understand?"

Gary stood there staring at her.

"_This demon is different from the others but that doesn't mean that she isn't bloodthirsty. I could be walking right into a trap. Best to keep my guard up at all times with this one._" Gary thought to himself.

Gary turned around and walked out the door, pulling his dagger out of the wall as he walked past, still keeping an eye out for any change in her body language. The girl floated over to the window and looked at him as he walked outside. Gary still was looking at her watching for any change in emotion but saw none. The girl continued to watch him as he vanished out of sight. She turned away and proceeded into the dark void of loneliness yet again.


	4. Chapter 4

Everything passed by his face. All the run down buildings, foul bathrooms, everything, continuing to edge forward, slowly walking into darkness. Watching for any sign of movement. A demon could easily take him out from behind but none tried. Gary wondered why but his mind was quickly overthrown by a rustle in the dark void that was laid out before him. Slowly, he took out one of his guns, flicked on his flashlight, and inched forward. Was it a survivor? Was it a demon? He had no idea but if the past served him right, he was surely wrong. His light slowly came upon the creature, wrapping it in rays of warmth only to reveal that it was just a mutt chewing and gnawing on demon bones. A mutt was a demon that looked like a dog. Its tail was shaped into a scythe, it was scarred in blood, and its right ear was torn off. Massive bleach white fangs surrounded its mouth and saliva was trickling out of its vice grips. If left untreated these disturbing beasts could kill you in minutes with deadly toxins. So suddenly yet so slowly the beast started to morph into an actual dog. The wood beside it lit straight up with fiery intensity and there he saw the same adult. The man with the scar slashed straight down his arm, sporting a brown t-shirt with a green vest on top. This was complemented by his tan jeans. Blood was spattered across his face and on his star necklace. Opposite of him was a young woman about 20. A brown scar was arced across the side of her face. Blood was spattered across her white skirt and her tan tang top. Her left arm was stained red as if something ripped and tore it to shreds. A moon necklace hung around her collar. They spoke softly and steadily with nothing but the essence of pure sadness in their voices.

"I can't believe everyone's gone," the man said.

The girl got up, strolled over and put her arms around the man.

"I can't believe it either but at least we have each other," the girl said.

The man touched her hand on his shoulder.

"I guess but to see everyone killed before my eyes, it was dreadful."

"I know but before you know it this nightmare will end and everything will be just."

"But what if it doesn't? What if we're left with this plague for all eternity? They will continue to kill, continue to murder , continue to exterminate every single being on this Earth. How can I believe a dream? How can I believe a lie?" The man asked.

"You…"

The girl paused for a second.

"You just have to," the girl said softly.

The man felt the girl's soft lips on his right cheek. The man cracked a slight smile and color began to return to his face. A head rested on his lap and he slowly began stroking his golden fur. A tear slowly crept down his face eventually finding the ground. Gary slowly raised his gun and shot the dog, banishing the memory from his mind. Everything disappeared, all that was left was a dead mutt lying motionless on the chilling stone. He walked around the town setting up torture bear traps as usual and then came back only to sit on the cold stone near the wood. He spread out his sleeping bag he kept tied to his back and before going to sleep his bible appeared in his hand. Flipping though the pages until he came to a specific verse.

"Praise the man who falls down and has someone to help him up but pity the man who falls down and has no one to help him up."

His father always told him to remember this verse, always to keep it close to his heart at all times even in the face of death itself. He thought he knew what this phrase truly meant but he lost it 6 years ago. It dried up along with his soul. Drifting off to sleep, he slowly forgot everything and closed his eyes only to meet darkness itself.


	5. Chapter 5

A loud snap woke Gary up. He jolted up and stood straight like a board.

"1:34… man, I'm not gonna get any sleep tonight," Gary said still groggy.

He got up and reached for his guns and reloaded almost losing his balance in the progress. Slowly walking toward the place where he heard the sound he took out his flashlight to banish the darkness. The light slowly came to shine on a familiar creature.

"You… what are you doing here?" Gary said.

Bathed in the light was the same demon girl. The trap was clasped around her leg. The spikes were bursting though her skin and into her flesh and bone. Every second the trap began to clamp down harder and harder. Blood was flowing smoothly down her leg and refracted light in beautiful tints on red. Even though she was looking at the ground you could still tell she was in agony.

"I… wanted to tell you… that," the girl started with pain in her voice.

"I knew it. You are like the rest. Bloodthirsty ravenous beasts," Gary said. "You came here to try and kill me."

"No… I," the girl started.

"Defending yourself will get you nowhere." Gary pointed the gun directly at her head.

"Wait… you don't understand!" The girl shouted with all her remaining energy she had left. Gary paused for a second and put his guns away.

"On second thought, I'll let you suffer. It seems like a fitting end to a demon like yourself," Gary said with a chuckle.

Walking back, the girl could only lie there incapable of any movement. She couldn't teleport because the trap was blocking her powers. It was biting down with such a massive force that was enough to drive her to the point of suicide. Ever since she was a little girl she couldn't take any pain whether it was big or small over a long period of time but this she had no choice but to suck it up and deal with it. The pain was growing stronger by the second and before she knew it, she met the darkness. Her body grew limp, her face grew pale, and her blood still flowed like a river down her leg and made a puddle on the stone. Her heart was beating, sending vibrations across the Earth. Gary looked back at her body and smiled.

"Damn rat."

The sun peered over the mountainside and gave birth to day. Gary's eyes slowly opened only to have a sun beam strike his cornea. Immediately he stood up clutching his left eye. When the pain went away he rolled up his sleeping bag, tied it around his waist as with his ammo bag and dagger, and put his guns back in their chasms. He walked over to the girl and looked longingly at her. Below her body was a pool of blood. Gary could only assume that she lost a quarter of her own. Demons have more blood but can't heal their wounds as effectively as humans. It was a unique and perplexing adaptation but that only made it harder to take these beasts out. Swiftly he kicked her head moving it 45 degrees to the right. The girl slowly came back to the world of living.

"Still alive?" Gary asked. "No demon has ever lasted this long against one of my traps. Usually they are killed and devoured by one of their own. You're a lucky one I'll give you that but don't fear, you'll continue to bleed to death and be dead by tomorrow."

Gary started to walk away but felt a hand grasp his leg. Thinking that this was her attack, Gary flung himself around and pointed his magnum at the girl's head.

"Please… help…… me." The girl said with pain and sadness in her voice. Gary stood there still pointing the gun, not moving an inch. "Please… h… elp… me."

"Why should I help you?" Gary asked.

"I… know… where a… a… survivor might… be." Gary cocked his bullet lining his gun up for the kill.

"I will never listen to a demon like yourself no matter what information they have. All you beasts are capable of is lying."

"How… how stupid… are you?"

"What did you say!"

"If I'm as evil… as you say… I am, I would've… tried to kill… to kill you… already."

"_She's right but that doesn't mean she isn't waiting for the perfect moment. She could still be guiding me right into a trap__,_" Gary thought to himself. The trap released it's grip on her leg and she had but a moment of relief. Before she knew it the trap slammed down and chomped at her leg. The girl let out a scream of pain.

"Please… help me… Please… I can't take much more of this agony… this torture… please……please…"

"Fine I'll relive you of your pain. Prepare to die." Garry started to pull the trigger but was interrupted by the girl.

"Please I beg of you!" The girl shouted looking into Gary's eyes. Tears were dripping down her face and past her cheek like a river flowing seamlessly down a waterfall. Gary's finger stopped halfway on the trigger and he just stared at her face.

"_Tears? Sadness? Demons aren't supposed show any emotion other than rage and… anger. This doesn't make any sense. If she was a demon like she said, she would've already attacked me by now and now she's showing mercy and sadness? This demon is different. It's almost as if she's… human. I still have to keep my guard up though. She could just as well be a new breed acting friendly to earn my trust._"

Gary brought the gun down to his side and walked around to her injured leg. He bent his knees and pressed a few buttons in a certain order. Just like that the trap retracted freeing her gory wound.

"Thank you," the girl said.


	6. Chapter 6

Out of the corner of his eye, he spied a piercing red spec deep in the cloak of shadows.

"You! You called them here!" Gary shouted at the girl.

"No… I."

Gary stood up and pointed both of his magnums, one at the girls head and one at the red eye.

"Quiet Vermin! Defending yourself will get you nowhere. I'll deal with you later."

Time slowly ticked by. Watching for any sort of movement but all he saw was complete stillness. Another red eye popped out and another and another. There was now four eyes staring at him judging his bravery. His gun shuffled from one eye to the next trying to anticipate which one would strike first. Everything was silent. All Gary could hear was the intense breathing coming from the girl trying to get oxygen into her lungs. A red light appeared behind Gary, but Gary was too focused on what was in front of him. The red light lunged at Gary.

"Look out!" The girl screamed.

With all of her strength she sprung to her feet. She plunged an energy spike into the darkness and shattered the light. The light hit the floor with a thud and was revealed to be yet another mutt. All the red specs vanished and Gary slowly turned his head and stared at her once again. The girl struggling to stand fell to the cold stone almost severing her own foot.

"You… you saved me," Gary said.

"We… we have to… get… away from… this… place. They're coming."

"Who's coming?"

The girl paused for a second as if taking in the pain

"You know… nothing about demons."

"What!? I know what they are! Bloodthirsty vicious monsters! That's what every damn demon is on this planet!"

"They're attract… ed… by bl… blood, demon or… human."

One by one a billion red eyes appeared in the shadows. Gary turned his head in every which way not knowing which one to stare down. Eventually his head stopped and locked onto the girl.

"_Who exactly is this girl? Is she a demon? Is she a human? She's been right about everything so far. She knows the nature of these beasts so she could tame them with ease but if that makes her a demon, why did she kill one of her own? Demons are supposed to kill their own if they're suffering not out of the blue. She saved me too so she, a demon values human life? That won't change her nature, that won't change my thoughts. Demons will always be bloodthirsty beasts no matter how nice they may seem. If she's been right about everything so far she might have information just as she said but that info that I will hear could lead me into a trap or an ambush,_" Gary thought.

A huge gargantuan demon with a billion red eyes bursted out from the shadows. It let out roar that shook the ground like an earthquake. It looked like a huge mass of flesh. Mutts were stuck in its body and fusing with the skin probably to make it more menacing or the mutts could be feeding off of its fluids like a mutual relationship. It had a huge black tongue that looked like it could stretch a mile. Bleach white fangs only made it seem more ferocious. Its eyes burned with blood lust.

"What the hell is that!?" Gary exclaimed taking a few steps back.

Gary stared at the red light. This was the first time in a while that he felt… fear? His hands were shaking. He did the only thing he knew how to do. Pulling out his magnums as fast as lightning, he began to shoot at the beasts' head. Each of the bullets got lodged in the demon's skull but it didn't flinch. The tongue shot out of it's mouth and wrapped around Gary pulling him up so they could stare each other down. Gary had to think fast. This was one of the many life or death encounters he had over the years. Luck for sure wasn't going to play in here. It all came down to his skill now. He pulled his knife from his waist and slashed the tongue. Gary fell to the ground with a thud but the demon acted as if it felt nothing. With a single swipe of its massive arm it knocked Gary into an abandoned house and shattered it. Gary emerged from the rubble pushing aside wooden boards.

"Man my head," Gary said rubbing his head.

The monstrous demon walked toward the girl. Even from a distance, Gary could sense the fear in her body. Gary looked to his left and spotted a sniper rifle. He picked it up. Surprisingly it was still loaded but it was all rusted over. It looked like it could break any second. He dusted off the scope and peered through it. He only had one shot. He took aim at the one of the creatures main eyes and fired. The shot hit the eye and the beast fell over. A crack was heard and the rifle snapped in two. The beast had only been stunned for a while so he had to act fast. Gary ran over to the demon girl and even though it may be something he'll regret he knelt down and motioned for the girl to climb on his back. The girl did what he motioned and clasped her arms around his neck. Gary ran as fast as he could out of the forsaken town. Slowly the girl fell into the shadows once again. Gary could only imagine the pain she was going through but nothing compared to the sadness he felt those years ago.


	7. Chapter 7

Gary kept running and running knowing if he stopped a demon could kill him instantly. In this world it was actually safer to run through a crowd of demons than it was to stand in one place. They may be vicious but they don't have the best reflexes. Gary spotted a mountain in the distance and sprinted full speed toward it. He took the girl sat her down against the mountain wall and reached into his ammo bag.

"I knew it was in here somewhere."

Finally he felt a cloth like object and pulled out a towel. Carefully he wrapped it around her leg to stop the bleeding. He might have been heartless but he needed her alive. After all he was looking for survivors and she might just provide the information he needed. As he stared at her face he had only one thought.

"_Who the hell is she?_"

Two hours passed. The girl was finally starting to come to.

"Awake yet?"

The girl looked around. All she could see was an endless desert but the air was surprisingly cool. Her ankle felt as if a thousand needles pierced her skin but the good news was that the bleeding was starting to die down. The towel was blood red. Gary walked over to her and knelt down.

"You're lucky to be alive. Now before you go all nice on me again, I only saved you because you have information. You're nothing more than a pawn in this war."

Gary paused.

"What's your name?"

"… Iren Enera."

"Iren huh. Well at least now I know what to call you."

Gary stared into her eyes once more.

"Iren, you said you have a clue. Show it to me," Gary said commandingly.

Iren materialized a picture in her left hand. Meanwhile Gary's hand was hovering over his gun holster just in case she tried to pull anything.

"This is what I found. When you left the cathedral I started searching through drawers and found this."

She handed over the picture. Gary swiped it out of her hand giving her a paper cut. With the sudden jolt of pain she began sucking on her bleeding finger. The picture featured a blond haired girl holding a one year old child (Gary only assumed this). The girl was dressed in garbs of green and white and had a piercing on her right ear.

"This is just a picture."

"Look on the back"

Gary flipped the picture and read the scripture on the back.

"_Dear Jebedie, _

_I can't take staying here much longer. The attacks have been becoming more and more aggressive. I'm taking Jessica to the canyon town of Aster. Hope you can make it. _

_Love, Seren._"

"Aster…"

Gary paused for a second as if remembering a present memory.

"_That's where my dad and I used to go rock climbing,_" Gary thought.

Gary put the picture in his pocket and started to walk away.

"Wait where are you going!?" Iren shouted.

"Where does it look like?"

Gary continued to walk away but was interrupted by Iren hovering in front of him.

"So your just going to leave me here!?"

"Seems like it. Now get out of my way."

Gary pushed her to the side and continued on toward Aster. Iren looked at him with a scornful look on her face.

"I'm coming with you whether you like it or not."

And as those words escaped her mouth she snuck into Gary's shadow undetected.


	8. Chapter 8

Aster was yet another ghost town filled with run down buildings and foul toiletries. On either side of the town were two canyon walls. This was where Gary and his father used to go rock climbing. There was a reason this town was called Aster. In the dead of night you could see thousands upon thousands of stars. This was only conjecture since the town was named after an asteroid and asteroids are linked to space but it seemed to make sense. Maybe it was named after an explorer who founded the town. Gary had no recollection of anyone founding the city. It just appeared out of nowhere. As Gary kept wondering about random things that wasn't even close to his mission, he arrived in Aster.

"Wow that was fast," Gary said scratching his head.

Step by step he waltzed into the town. The smell of rotting flesh filled the air. The all too familiar scent filled his nostrils and almost made his eyes water. He still wasn't used to the smell not even after six years. His feet stopped. Right there, on the ground was some stairs. This was one of the underground bunkers he had heard about. The humans used these to escape the demon's wrath but were quickly overrun. This bunker was the best chance to find a survivor or even an animal. Even though it may be filled with demons Gary had no choice. He took one step forward and was shortly interrupted by an all too familiar voice.

"Where do you think you're going!?"

Iren came out of Gary's shadow and hovered in front of his face.

"What does it take to get rid of this girl," Gary thought.

"You think you can just leave me there alone like that!"

"Just go the hell away. I have my own problems to deal with."

Gary proceeded to walk past her but was stopped once again.

"Look wherever you go I'm going too."

"Why do you have to follow me of all people? Why don't you get one of your demon friends," Gary said mockingly as he walked past her again.

"Because… because… you're the only one I have left"

Gary stopped in his tracks.

"_I'm the only one she has left?_"

"Nobody knew what it was like to have all of your teammates, all of your friends plop down dead in front of your eyes. It's awful to see death and not being able to do anything to stop it. Then I met you, someone whom I could relate to. One who had lost it all but instead you treated me with hate and anger. You hurt me in ways I never thought possible yet I still kept coming back."

The same question kept entering Gary's mind. Who was she?

"I don't consider myself a demon. I never considered myself one of them. In fact I hate them. They killed all of my friends. Now they're hunting me because of what happened did six years ago."

"_What happened? Who exactly is she? Maybe if I let her travel with me, I could learn more about this new breed__._"

The wind started to howl and the same breeze that comforted Gary so, blew past his cheek.

"Iren is it?"

"Yes."

"Better not lag behind. The demons will be all over us if we just stand here."

Iren smiled as he walked down the steps.

"Just don't get in my way if you value your life," Gary said.

"Now why would I get in your way?" Iren said as she floated toward Gary.


	9. Chapter 9

Everything was quiet. The walls were cold and chilling to the touch. Gary could only assume that it was brinstone, a rather poor choice for building material but he supposed it was the only material the humans had to work with. The pathways were illuminated by the flickering lights above which revealed cobwebs everywhere. No light could last six years and still function so that must mean someone or something was here recently.

"I don't like this place," Iren said.

"I know, I feel like I'm in a coffin," Gary said.

Gary proceeded forward, tripping occasionally over his own feet and eventually found a wall face first.

"Damn darkness," Gary muttered to himself.

On the wall there was even more script. The writing was jagged and unsteady. Most of it was faded away.

"I can't take much more of this. These demons are becoming more monstrous by the second. Enile if you find this, I lo…"

At the end there was a line straight down and was covered in blood. He followed the line to a human skull. Iren shrieked.

"Relax it's just a skull." Gary said.

"And that doesn't scare you?" Iren said.

"I've seen this many times over. I'm used to it."

Iren floated toward the wall and ran her fingers over the faded text. She felt the blood on her fingers. It was comforting to at least touch this life force for some reason. She suddenly realized that Gary wasn't by her side and he was waltzing away down the hall.

"Hey! Don't leave me behind like that!" Iren shouted as she floated towards Gary

"If you want to keep up don't stop for sightseeing, now come on we have quite a bit of ground to cover."

Iren stopped while Gary continued down the hall.

"_If there's one thing he has it's a major attitude problem. What kind of man leaves a girl behind all by her lonesome?_" Iren thought to herself.

She sighed and materialized a mirror in her left hand. Looking into it she fixed her hair brushing a bang out of her line of vision and continued to follow Gary into the dank bunker.

This bunker had an eerie feel to it as if something horrible happened here. Something even more horrid than what Gary had seen throughout his years.

"This place gives me the creeps. Can we leave soon?" Iren suggested.

Gary let out a small chuckle.

"Are you scared already?" Gary asked.

"No! Of course not! This place just gives me a nudge in my bad side that's all."

"Heh, whatever you say demon."

"Don't call me that!" Iren shouted. "If I truly were foul, I would have killed you a long time ago!"

"Like you could take me on. I'm way out of your league."

"I'll show you out of league!"

Just as Iren was about to hit Gary in the head, they went around a corner only to be faced with demon and human bodies. Iren froze and just the sight almost made her faint. Gary stood their counting the bodies. He counted about 30 human corpses alone and about 10 demons. These humans never even stood a chance. Walking through the oozing mounds of human flesh Gary came to a halt in front of a lifeless human body eating dirt. With a slight nudge, Gary pushed the body over only to reveal the disgusting mess. Organs were making themselves apparent, bursting though the chest torn to shreds. Blood was splattered across his entire body and his clothes were torn. Pieces of a human heart were lying not to far from the body. Iren clutched her nose sealing the odor.

"Eww! That's disgusting! How can you not be creeped out by this?"

Gary stood there silent as a stone.

"Hey! Are you listening to me?!"

Gary's eye trailed a stream of blood to a bible. Picking it up he flipped through the pages almost reaching the end. Skimming until he came upon the words "The Revelation." He read the words one after the other to himself.

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servent John: Who bare record of the word of God. And of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things he saw."

Gary let out a breath.

"Hell has already come to Earth," Gary said.

With a swift movement of his arm, he threw the sacred book over his shoulder. Iren caught the book by its bindings.

"What's this?" Iren asked.

"The New Testement."

"New… Testement?"

"The Bible."

"Oh just like yours?"

"No I have the Old Testement. This is the new one. This one's of no use to me. Everything has already played out according to its phophacy."

Iren looked at the book once more and flipped through the pages until she came to the same words. By the time she looked up Gary was already turning the corner.

"Hey! Where are you going!? You said we should stick together!" Iren shouted.

"I never said that. I just don't want to end up like that human. I could care less what happens to you."

Iren folded her arms.

"_Make that a colossal attitude problem_." Iren thought to herself.

A bookmark materialized in her hand which proceeded to hug the pages of the sacred book. Closing the book emitted a flurry of dust. Iren coughed expelling the particles from her throat. The book disappeared from sight and she once again followed Gary into the crypt.


	10. Chapter 10

Gary turned another corner and was surprised that the path had changed. Instead of the brinstone walls that held him tightly, the path ahead merged into a old decrepit mineshaft.

"Weird the path changed," Gary said.

Gary ignored this and continued forward but was stopped by a farmiliar hand on his shoulder.

"I don't think we should proceed. We should turn back. The floor could break away any second."

Gary shrugged her hand off of his shoulder.

"Like I would ever litsen to you!"

Gary took one step and fell through the floor into a bottomless chasm. Down and down he went into complete darkness. The only light that could be seen was the slight refractions off of the rock walls. Iren appeared right by his side as he was falling.

"I hate to say I told you so…"

"Just shut up and save my ass."

Iren slowed Gary's fall and eventually landed on a cold floor. Iren hovered by his side waiting for those two words but nothing came out of Gary's mouth.

"You know, I've just about had it with you! Is that any way to thank someone for saving your life!"

"You don't have to follow me you know."

Iren's face turned red with anger.

"Fine! When you get yourself into trouble again, don't come crying to me!"

A loud boom shook the ground like a level ten earthquake. Dust was scattered and produced a cloud of brown poison, blinding the sight of anything that came in contact with it. The dust made its way through their lungs, coughing uncontrollably trying to expel the brown poison.

"Look out" Iren said while covering her mouth.

Iren grabbed Gary's arm and tugged him out of the way. They burst out of the cloud like a bullet. They escaped the deadly brown poison. When the dust cleared all that was left was a bunker in the ground where Gary once stood.

"I thought you weren't going to help me anymore!" Gary shouted.

Gary turned his head only to see a huge Demon. It had to be at least a three hundred feet high and no more than two hundred feet wide. At some parts on its body were scales that resembled a snake like skin and the other parts resembled decaying flesh. A huge curved spike was protruding out of its forehead. Its eyes were stiched up. Huge fangs decorated the sides of its mouth. A long muscular neck connected its huge head to its torso. Huge arms with massive claws were making themselves apparent around the neck and moved from one location to another. Six legs were stomping with anger, making little craters each time they hit the ground. Bones forced themselves out of its back and retracted and then repeated. The tail was thrashing about, knocking rubble out of its way. Bones covered with blood were lining themselves across its tail.

"What the hell is that!?" Gary shouted.

Iren grabbed his arm again.

"Don't ask questions, just run!"

Iren ran with Gary treading behind her. Blasts of energy were sounding off behind them. They dove in front of a huge pile of rock escaping the beast's sight.

"Get your hands…" Gary started before Iren put her hand over his mouth.

"Be quiet," Iren whispered.

Iren peaked her head out of their hiding place. Just as she thought the Demon only senses movement.

"What is that?" Gary asked quietly.

"A Fallen Angel." Iren answered.

"A… Fallen Angel?"

"You don't know who the Fallen Angels are?"

"Never heard of them."

"So that's why you're still alive," Iren whispered to herself.

Iren paused, remembering her horrible past before she came back to the present.

"The five Fallen Angels are Demons each named and representing the five fruits that no human should ever feel or commit. Rage, Despair, Revenge, Sadness, and Trickery. They are known as the high generals of the Demon army."

Out of all those names, one stood out in Garys mind. Trickery. By definition trickery means to decieve usually for some kind of gain. Now he had even more of a reason to lose her as fast as possible. She could be the Fallen Angel of Trickery.


	11. Chapter 11

The rock blew into bits. Some pieces got lodged in Gary's skin while Iren was blown back into the cold wall. Gary reached for his guns and fired. He had done this so many times that this action was a natural occurrence to him, repeating over and over again. Again it didn't flinch. The more bullets got lodged in its head, the angrier it got. It finally occurred to Gary that this must the Fallen Angel of Rage. The beast charged forward, shaking the entire room. Gary managed to get out of the way just in time but it occurred to him that he wasn't the real target, the beast wanted Iren instead. She must have done something to piss these Demons off but what was it? None of this mattered now. Aiming down the barrel he shot the creature in the back of the head. The beast turned around.

"Your fight is with me freak show," Gary said.

The beast charged once more at Gary and again he dodge out of the way. He's was fighting an impossible war. How could he go up against that? He needed to formulate a plan quickly. The beast suddenly phased in behind him and let off a burst of energy that blew Gary back towards Iren. He got up slowly massaging his back. The creature stomped its feet again shaking the whole room and charged yet again. The creature slammed into the wall and when the dust cleared, Gary and Iren were gone. Gary lay on the floor not to far from the beast firing his bullets one after the other. Iren was on top of his body and slowly came too. She turned her head to see what he was firing at and was met with the Fallen Angel of Rage again. She extended her hand and Gary's bullets became shrouded in a aura that pierced the demons spike horn. A few more shots fired and the spike shattered revealing a flesh like goop that was black in color. The Demon lost its balance and fell to the floor with a thud forcing Gary and Iren off each other.

"There! You see that?" Iren said as she pointed toward the black goop. "That's the demons' nerve residue."

"Nerve residue?" Gary asked.

"Behind it should be its brain."

"Let me guess, we need to blow it up somehow?"

"Or shred it."

Gary reached for his bag and pulled out what looked like a pipe bomb. He then reached down again and pulled his dagger from its sheath. He ran straight up to the colossal creature with one thought in his mind. The creature slammed its arm into the ground forcing tentacles with carnivorous teeth at the end to try and devour Gary. Iren sat there watching as Gary risked life and limb to kill a Fallen Angel. She wished she could be as brave as him but there's a very fine line between bravery and stupidity. No matter, she still had to help him. After all he was the only she had left. Iren released a barrage of energy blasts that sliced though the carnivorous tentacles and cut a clear path for Gary. Gary jumped on the beasts head and sliced though the black goop with his dagger. Taking the pipe bomb is hand and threw it inside the demons head. He jumped off and waited by Irens side, slowly counting down the seconds until the Demon was no more.

"5…"

"4…"

The Demon got up and started to charge toward Gary and Iren.

"3…"

"2…"

The Demon came closer and closer.

"1…"

Gary could feel the Demons breath. It reeked of death, bloodlust, rage, anger, hatered. He was now close enough where he could feel its devilish aura. Right in front of his face. Then before even a bead of blood fell from his face the pipe bomb went off. The Demon was no more.

"Weird, I thought Fallen Angels were tougher," Gary said breathing a sigh of relief.

Iren walked toward the dead demon.

"That's because this wasn't a Fallen Angel."

"It wasn't?"

"It bears a resemblance to Rage but this one was just an ordinary Demon."

Gary spotted to yellow eyes that stared right into his and then disappeared. This peaked his interest. He put his dagger away and pulled out one of his magnums. He then proceeded to walk past Iren who was still rambling about.

"They must've stationed this Demon here for something, probably to guard, but who or what?"

Iren looked around for Gary and spotted him walking away.

"Oh well that's nice. Walk away and leave a girl alone, again!!!" Iren screamed at him as she ran toward his side.

She waited for a response from him mainly a witty comment but he was silent, eyes only focused on the road ahead of him as they entered a cave.

"Hello are you feeling ok?" Iren asked.

"I saw something," Gary said as he walked along.

"Something?"

"It had yellow eyes and ran away from me. That something just may be the answer to my prayers."

Gary started to run chasing down this culprit. The cave grew darker and darker as they turned the corner. Gary switched on his flashlight and held out his gun just in case something lunged at him. The same darkness that comforted you while you were asleep was not your greatest fear in this altered world. Step by step, closer and closer, they could hear sobbing, tears striking the ground below. A survivor maybe? Gary could do nothing but hope. Forward, tears grew louder, fear became more apparent beyond the reach of the light. Closer and closer until the light came and cast itself on a farmiliar face. A face that Gary could not forget. His gun on her forehead ridden with sweat was his girl.


	12. Chapter 12

6 Years Earlier

The city, filled with smoke and bustling people. Happy faces everywhere you turn and while everyone is having the time of there lives, the homeless make themselves comfortable in the street. Cops roam the concrete pathways day and night, scoping the city for drunks and dirty good for nothing lawbreakers. Folk drive to work, back and forth, back and forth, only to come home to sweet solitude or to be greeted by their significant other. The night sets in sheltering them from the truth. Then the dark night gives birth to the sweet sunshine and that only gives them false hope for the day onward. Makes me sick.

"Adam! Adam! A question Adam!"

Surrounded by reporters again just like any other day. As I walk down the sidewalk, I wonder if I made the right choice by disbanding from the army to make weapons. I have grown into the main weapon manufacture in the whole world and I make tons of money off of my weapon designs. I build them, test them, and then sell them. I'm protected by the government and the main target by many terrorist forces and mafia groups. I'd rather be out in the field, fighting alongside my men, not stuck in my estate like a trapped animal. Being successful comes with a price I suppose but I have to live with my choice.

"Adam! Adam! What is your response to the rumors about you and Alexis Harmonic?" A reporter asked.

"I say people should not jump to conclusions. She's just a close friend of mine end of story." Adam responded.

"Adam! What about what are you currently working on in terms of weaponry?"

"No comment."

"Adam! Could you give us some info about what exactly we're up against?"

Adam turned around now walking backwards facing the reporters.

"All we know is this enemy is a fierce foe to tackle. Our troops are doing there best to hold them off. They won't break anytime soon I'm sure of that. I loved those commanders like they were my family."

Down the sidewalk, a girl with her head down looking at a book was walking toward Adam. She was about 5' 6", about 24 years old wearing a black t-shirt with a green jacket and a pink skirt that went down to her knees. She had blackish Brown hair and had hazel eyes that were concentrated on the black ink of the pages.

"You have no reason to worry, our troops are equipped with the best suits of armor and guns available. Consider this war…"

Adam turned around and was met face to face with the girl. They both crashed into each other and were tossed onto the cement. They girl got up and dusted herself off, picked up her book at looked at Adam.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry Mister Adam! Please excuse me!" The girl said.

Adam sat there staring at her as she ran away. He got up, dusted off his black shirt and blue jeans which fitted his 25 year old stature, and picked up his sunglasses placing them on his head.

"Adam! Adam! Another question Adam!" The reporters sounded off again.

Adam held up his hand motioning them to stop.

"Hold all questions."

Adam ran eventually catching up to the girl. As the reporters stood there waiting anxiously to get the information they needed, Adam was quietly chatting with the girl, apologizing for his actions.

"What do you suppose they're talking about?" One of the reporters said.

"I don't know."

Adam wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to the girl while she did the same. They each said there goodbyes and walked away from each others warmth.

"Adam! What did you just give that girl?"

"Hold all of your questions until tomorrow, I wish to retire to me estate." Adam said calmly.

Adam trotted off to his estate leaving the disappointed reporters behind him. The girl's strides slowed to a halt. Taking the piece of paper out of her pocket she read the inscriptions in her head.

"576-907-2937"

Adam's phone number. As she clutched this piece of paper and held it close to her heart, she could only think of what will happen tonight. What will she do? How will she react around such a star? Will she get to feel his lips? She could only dream and wonder. She put the note back in her pocket and started reading the black ink of her book once more.


End file.
